Chapter 40: Beating the Rat Might Damage the Jade Bottle

Back in her room, Madam Li hurriedly crawled under the bed and pulled out a black cloth pouch. Sitting right on the floor, she started counting the silver inside.

Seeing that the forty taels were all still there, not a single coin missing, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. She carefully put the pouch back in place.

Thank goodness they hadn’t found her lifeline!

Since that hadn’t been discovered, then…

Madam Li stood up, not even bothering to brush off the dust from the floor. She rushed to open the cabinet and pulled out a small embroidered purse from beneath the bedding.

Sure enough—inside, a piece of silver worth two qian (0.2 tael) was missing.

That damn old hag! She ground her teeth in fury.

And that useless Wu Erfan—he was at home and still let someone take her money!

In her anger and heartbreak, Madam Li completely forgot the cardinal rule of extended family life: you can’t stash private money.

Now, all she could think about was that missing two qian of silver.

She nearly rushed out the door to demand her money back from Song Yeqing—but then she suddenly realized: her secret stash had been discovered by her mother-in-law.

Her mother-in-law had always seemed kind—surely she wouldn’t force her to hand over all the money to the family, right? Madam Li was uncertain, unsure what to believe.

After doing the math carefully, she came to a reluctant conclusion: She really couldn’t afford to make a fuss. If she did, she might lose even the other two taels.

Fuming, Madam Li turned around and sat down with a heavy thud, slamming her palm on the table in frustration. This was truly like swallowing bitter medicine—she couldn’t say a word even if it choked her.

That shameless little wretch Song Yeqing really got the better end of the deal!

Last night, Madam Li had secretly hidden behind the door and seen her mother-in-law come back with a bunch of stuff. After everyone had gone to bed, she snuck into the kitchen to take a look.

To her shock, there was white rice… and even a chunk of meat. The discovery had completely wrecked her night. She tossed and turned for hours, unable to sleep.

In the end, unwilling to let it go, she gritted her teeth and made a bold decision: If we have to return it anyway, why not let me take it first?

At the crack of dawn, she got up, packed the goods, and rushed to town while it was still dark. She sold all the meat, kept only three jin (about 1.5 kg) of rice, and delivered it to her mother’s home.

But she hadn’t expected her mother-in-law to actually chase her all the way to her parents’ house. Thankfully, she’d kept a little for herself and, by being “clever,” didn’t give herself away.

Even more unexpected was that after her mother-in-law returned home, she took the hidden money Madam Li had stashed outside and gave it directly to Song Yeqing—paying her “meal fee” on Madam Li’s behalf.

So basically, all her running around today had been a complete waste of time? She’d traveled so far and only earned twenty-two wen?

Madam Li suddenly felt a stabbing pain in her chest and a ringing in her head. Hearing the laughter and cheer from outside only made her headache worse.

No way. Why should Song Yeqing get to say whether I can eat or not? Who does she think she is? This isn’t the He family or the Song family—this is my home! This was Li Chunhua’s house!

Madam Li suddenly flung open her door, then slammed it shut with a loud bang. She stomped her way to the dining table and sat down like nothing had happened.

That familiar, powerless fury unique to her returned.

Even when Old Master Wu gave a light cough, she instinctively softened her movements.

Wu Erlang still played the turtle—shrinking into himself, avoiding conflict.

Among the children, the older ones didn’t dare say a word. The younger ones looked confused—they had no idea what had just happened.

As Song Yeqing walked out with a dish in her hands, she froze when she saw Madam Li sitting at the table. She was truly stunned.

She had said everything so clearly—and yet this woman still had the gall to sit down and eat as if nothing had happened?

What should she do—drag her away from the table? Drive her out? After all, this was the Wu family’s house. She didn’t have the right to do that.

Besides, being a guest and refusing to let the host eat—no matter what the real story was, it would sound rude and look unreasonable to outsiders.

Maybe she could challenge her to a spiritual duel tonight? No, not possible yet. Then what—a good old-fashioned fight?

Back when Song Yeqing used to catch ghosts, whenever she ran into tough cases, she’d just beat them into submission. She wanted to use that same approach now.

What problem can’t be solved with one fight? And if one’s not enough, fight twice.

After all, Song Yeqing hadn’t personally experienced the full tragedy of the original timeline—she’d only heard He Yanxin briefly describe it.

So at present, her impression of Wu Erlang and Madam Li was simple: completely selfish, morally bankrupt, and deeply unpleasant.

From today’s first real encounter alone, she already felt incredibly disgusted.

Meanwhile, He Yanxin was also eyeing Madam Li and Wu Erlang, his expression unreadable, deep in thought.

When it came to how to deal with this couple, truthfully, he found the matter quite tricky.

After all, in the previous life, they had stolen food and abandoned everyone—not because they were evil, but because they were extremely selfish. In the end, it boiled down to a lack of morality.

They hadn’t even realized that their escape would indirectly lead to others’ deaths.

And even if they had stolen food—was he supposed to report it to the authorities? What kind of neighbor goes to the police to report that their neighbors’ son stole food from his own family?

As the saying goes, “Even honest officials struggle to judge family disputes.” They were one household, and it wasn’t even his stuff—what right did he have to get involved?

There was also the more pressing issue: none of it had happened yet.

What could he say—that it happened in a past life? People would just think he’d gone crazy.

Besides Song Yeqing, he would never reveal to anyone that he had reincarnated, or that the original host had lived a past life.

Not because he trusted someone he had only met a day ago, but because in this strange world, Song Yeqing was his only ally—essentially, his teammate.

Would the Wu family even believe him if he said their son and daughter-in-law would soon abandon them and indirectly destroy the entire family?

And even if they did—what could they do? Beat them up? Curse them to vent their anger? Cut ties?

There was also the more delicate issue: two innocent children had died in the previous life because of their parents’ betrayal.

And no matter how close the original host had been to the Wu family, he couldn’t match the bond of blood—not compared to their own sons and brothers.

Even the original host had understood this. He had endured and tolerated so much precisely because he didn’t want to break apart the family.

If even the original host had understood that, how could He Yanxin, a total outsider, not?

If he tore things open with Wu Erlang and Madam Li now, who’s to say the Wu family wouldn’t eventually turn against him? He had no desire to test the limits of human nature.

Right now, it really was like the old saying: “To beat the rat might break the jade bottle.” One false move and the damage could be irreparable.

Why is this so hard to deal with? He Yanxin couldn’t think of a good solution. For now, he decided to talk things over with Song Yeqing again.

So, he called his two little brothers over, washed their dirty little hands, and got them ready for dinner.

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About the Protagonist’s Name:

Song Yeqing (宋叶箐)

The name is taken from the ancient Chinese classic The Book of Songs:

“有杕之杜，其叶菁菁。独行睘睘。岂无他人？不如我同姓。嗟行之人，胡不比焉？人无兄弟，胡不佽焉？”

Translation:

“A lone tree by the road, its leaves lush and green. I walk alone and sorrowful. Are there no other people? None as close as one of my own surname. Oh, travelers passing by—why not befriend me? Without brothers, why not help me?”

The female lead in the modern world has a half-brother with a poor relationship. In ancient times, her brother was separated from her. So, this poem resonates deeply with her. In both lifetimes, she has lived a lonely and difficult life.

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(End of Chapter 40)